Helping Real Estate Photographers Be Successful

Archive for the 'RCMA' Category

Patrick in Texas asked: I have passed my knowledge test to be a remote pilot but I am not finding a lot in the form of logos/credentials for the certification from the FAA to market with. I mean, I am happy to have it but I really want Realtors to know that up front. Have […]

The new Small UAS (Drone) Rule (Part 107), including all pilot and operating rules, become effective today (Monday, August 29, 2016). Here’s the FAA’s official announcement. Here is the FAA’s page that explains how to become a registered FAA drone pilot. It has links to suggested study materials. They have a link to a list […]

Jack recently asked: I am confused about the rules and regulations about flying a drone for aerial photography. If a person is a license commercial pilot can they fly a drone for commercial/real estate photography purposes? Or are they required to be certified by the FAA? Real Estate agents in this area are very leery […]

Peter Sachs has an article last week over at suasnews.com and on dronelawjournal.com (Peter’s site) explaining the new amendment to the AIRR Act which is the latest FAA Reauthorization Act. Peter’s article says: On February 11, 2016, Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis introduced an innovative Micro Drone amendment to the AIRR Act, which is the latest FAA Reauthorization […]

Manuel In New Jersey says: I want to buy a drone for real estate, my question is if you know what are the minimum requirements or if you know any web page or any tutorial. Here is my take on this question along with some real estate drone resources:

Yesterday the FAA announced a web-based registration process for owners of small unmanned aircraft (UAS) weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms including payloads such as onboard cameras. Registration begins on December 21, 2015 and the first 30 days are free. Under this rule, any owner of […]

Last week I talked to the guys at UAV Coach. UAV Coach is a drone blog and online community that recently launched a 6-part drone training course. This is the course page. The 90-minute video and text-based course is geared towards brand new and beginner pilots who want to break into the industry and hone […]

California appears to be very close to creating no-fly zones over all private property. California SB-142 has been passed by the state legislature and as I understand it has been on Gov Brown’s desk since August 28. As I understand it, SB-142 says you have to have express permission to fly a UAV over private […]

Cal Mitchener, a successful real estate shooter in Charlotte, NC that we’ve featured several times here on the PFRE blog, has been providing elevated real estate shots for many years. Cal started with a WonderPole, then in 2011 he moved up to a Gitzo giant tripod. Last week he described his planned move up to […]

I have a lot of people asking, “what’s the status of small Drone rules that apply to real estate photography?” What I always do is refer people to Peter Sachs’ dronelawjournal.com. Peter is a lawyer, drone activist, photographer and small drone pilot and has the best description of the state of US drone law that […]

Gregory McNeal at Forbes.com reports that: For more than a year, FAA officials have been engaged in a campaign of subtle threats and intimidation tactics that have persuaded many businesses to not use drone videos. This week, officials in Washington D.C. have finally weighed in on the legality of these tactics and in a published […]

Faine Greenwood over at Slate.com has a great article on the FAA’s harassment of Jayson Hanes in Tampa (that I reported last week) and Steve Girard in Portland. These two cases illustrate the confusion around what does and doesn’t constitute commercial UAV usage in the US. The article concludes that: It’s not at all certain […]

According to an article yesterday on MotherBoard.com the FAA has sent cease and desist orders to: Registered businesses that advertise drone-for-hire services on their websites. UAV operators that post footage on YouTube. Jayson Hanes, a Tampa-based hobbyist is the first to get a letter for posting on YouTube. And if you do not respond to the cease […]

Today, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today proposed a framework of regulations (PDF), “that would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today’s aviation system, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations.” Here is the press release. I don’t know what’s going on at the FAA but it seems […]